clownfish and anemones

This is a discussion on clownfish and anemones within the Beginner Saltwater Aquariums forums, part of the Saltwater Fish and Coral Reef Tanks category; -->
I am going to be adding a clownfish soon....yes....I have a toddler who is crazy about Nemo....and was wondering whether to add an anemone. ...

I am going to be adding a clownfish soon....yes....I have a toddler who is crazy about Nemo....and was wondering whether to add an anemone. I heard that they are fine without them, but I was wondering if they are happier and do better when you have one. I was also wondering, if there are other fish in the tank, will they get stung by the anemone (I thought I heard that they sting or something like that).

Clownfish are "happy" with or without an anemone present. In fact, i would suggest that keeping Clownfish in pairs is much more important. When kept in a pair they behave much more naturally and display much less aggression.

Additionally, anemones are extremely delicate and should not be considered by anyone without a tremendous amount of experience in the hobby. In the wild they live over 200 years. Reports of captive anemones living in excess of 10 years are rare.

I had a bubble tip anemone in my 60 gal tank, let me tell you very difficult to keep, feeding is tricky as well, keep an eye on your temperature 76deg is ideal. My anemone lived for 4 weeks I think and then I had to remove it becuase my tank reached 82 deg( I have no chiller) I was lucky cause when they die they can wipe out your whole tank.
Also you must know that not all clownfish will host the anemone, especially if they are tank raised, mine did. Now that my anemone died my clownfish actually hosted the torch coral which is a lot easier to keep.
Also I heard somewhere that if your clownfish is not hosting an anemone/torch coral you can tape a picture to the glass with a clownfish inside anemone and they might learn from it(not sure if it works, but it's worth a try)
good luck.

Anemones are very difficult, but why not get a torch coral instead?. They require less light and water circulation, I don't think they require live foods, they are alot easier to keep in a home aquarium, and there is a chance that your clown(s) will host it.http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_...pcatid=509&N=0

Also, Clowns will host almost anything with "arms." These being Frogspawn (IMO best option), Pulsing Xenia (grows like a weed), Torch Coral, Hairy Mushrooms, and I have seen some host Candy Canes. Clowns will also host tank corners, powerheads, etc etc.

what is the best lighting for clownfish? if i get two clownfish and they end up being male/female, will they breed in captivity?

I guess the average lighting is "best." - Daylight 100000k and 6700k Actinic bulbs.

And Clowns can change from male to female, but not female to male. Females are the bigger, more aggresive ones. So if you buy two small ones, one will most likely switch over and they will pair up.

But breeding them is very hard to do in captivity. I remember finding a very good link about that once, let me try to find it.

I was wanting to breed clowns, but I was then told that raising the fry takes alot of time,(you can't leave the house) and that they can easily just get sucked up the filters/powerheads. Don't be discouraged though. Just take some time off of work when you have a pregnant female, and set up a quarantine tank for the fry. An armed coral, such as frogspawn or torch, will make the pair of clowns feel more at home, but they will thrive without one.

After all, your toddler will probably go insane once he/she sees the army of little nemos.